Aaron Braun preparing for Olympics in L.A. Marathon run

From left, Aaron Braun, Lauren Kleppin, Deena Kastor and Gabe Proctor train for Sunday's LA Marathon before a group of elite marathon runners met with students, of the Students Run LA program, at Griffith Park in Los Angeles Friday, March 7, 2014. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz/Pasadena Star-News)

The Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games are more than two years away and the U.S. Olympic Trials in the marathon are 23 months away. That makes Sunday the perfect time for Aaron Braun to compete in his first marathon. The 26-year-old from Alamosa, Colo. makes his debut in the 29th running of the $110,000 ASICS L.A. Marathon on the same Dodger Stadium-to-Pacific Ocean route to be used for the Feb. 13, 2016 Trials.

“I think it’s a good age to finally test it out,” Braun said after completing a short training run on Friday at Griffith Park. “We’re two years away from the Trials back here. Hopefully in those two years I will get a couple of marathons under my belt and go into the Trials feeling like a veteran in the marathon, not a rookie.”

Running 26 miles, 285 yards is not something the former Adams State distance standout had in mind a few seasons ago. He was determined to make the 2014 Olympic Games in London on the track. He finished fifth in the 10,000-meter U.S. Trials and then fifth at last year’s U.S. Championships in Des Moines, Ia.

“That’s not good enough,” he said. “I want to be in the top three. I want to make the Olympic team. That’s why I am still running, it’s why I do not have a regular job. All these sacrifices I make are so I can make the Olympic team.”

Getting consistently beaten by Galen Rupp, Bernard Lagat and Dathan Rizenhein at 5,000 and 100,000 meters was enough, he said.

“I have been thinking about it for a couple years after being outkicked so many times by national champions in the 5K and the 10K. It was always in the back of my mind that, OK, I think the marathon is going to be my best event.

“I think it is my calling. I started off as a miler. I thought I had a lot of speed, but once I got to world class or the class of the U.S., I found out I did not have enough speed for that. I think the marathon really shows my utmost and greatest potential.”

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He won six NCAA Division II track and field titles at Adam State and also helped the Grizzlies win two national cross country team titles.

But after taking fifth in the 2012 Trials, he seriously turned to road racing. He tied the course record in winning the 2012 Manchester, Conn., Road Race and finished second in the race last November.

He has run four half-marathons, finishing fifth in Houston last year and then winning the U.S. Marathon Championship in Houston in January in a personal-best time of 1 hour, 1 minute, 38 seconds.

“It was just a matter of not rushing it,” he said of switching distances. “I’ve been wanting to put in the years of work and the mileage and get experience at the half-marathon.”

He had made 110 to 120 miles of high-altitude training for the 13-mile races, but has bumped up his training to 135 miles a week.

Among the elite athletes he will face is 2013 L.A. Marathon champion Erick Mose of Kenya, who won the race in 2:09:44 last year, along with Julius Keter of Kenya, who was second last year and is the grandson of Olympic gold medalist Kip Keino and 35-year-old veteran Benjamin Kiptoo of Kenya, who has five marathon victories

That makes it a perfect race to make a debut, he said.

“For the first one, I did not want to go to a place such as Boston with the best athletes,” he said. “I think this one is a perfect one to get my feet wet. It still has a really good field, especially knowing the Trials are here. I think I can be competitive in this race. I’d rather be at the front of the group rather that at other marathons, where I’d let 2:04, 2:05 guys go and try to run my own race.”

Initially, none of the men will be leading the race. That’s because the elite women will be given a 17:41 head start at Dodger Stadium. The first runner to the Santa Monica finish line, man or woman, will receive an additional $50,000 bonus to their $25,000 first-place prize. Last year, Aleksandra Duliba of Belarus finished 2:11 ahead of Mose for the bonus. It was the sixth time in 10 years that a woman crossed the finish line first to claim the prize. She is not competing in the race this year.

“It’s the biggest challenge in my racing career,” Braun said. “I want to get to 20 miles trying to feel as relaxed as possible because I have heard that 20 miles is the halfway point energy-wise. I have an idea of what I am capable of running, but it depends how fast they go out, how I feel, what the weather is like.

“There are so many things in a marathon that can happen. You don’t need good luck, just the absence of bad luck. That’s what I’m hoping for.”

For the second consecutive year, all 25,000 spots in the race were sold out. Getting top athletes, and up-and-coming runners, is important for L.A., event CEO Tracey Russell said.

“The five-ring fever that L.A. has, an event like this really elevates our game,” she said. “In the long term, we want to build out our professional field and bring in additional great marathoners. This is such a great stage, so why not make ASICS L.A. Marathon that kind of stage.”

There is a 5K at Dodger Stadium today, and handcycle and wheelchair races will start before the elite runners take off on Sunday.